Tuesday, May 17, 2011

How many times have we said those words to someone but yet failed to heed our own advice?

Have you ever stopped for a moment to think about what it means to live every day as if it were your last?

It's actually quite daunting.

I would never want to think for a second that today could be my last day on this earth, with my wife, my kids.

That is a lot of pressure. Pressure to do all of the things in a day that might have otherwise taken a lifetime to achieve. It doesn't seem feasible.

Does it mean that I need to set sail on that long overdue Nickelodeon cruise? Should I reconsider sky diving? Must I swim with the dolphins?

Is that what it means?

I hope not.

What if you took the same quote and changed it just a little bit?

"Live every day as if you were going to live forever."

It changes everything.

What I've come to realize, is that life is made up of moments. A million, billion, trillion, zillion little moments.

These moments don't care if you notice them. They won't tap you on the shoulder if you're facing the other way. They run from us. They are streaks of white light in the sky. They are the last raindrops and the first rays of sun. These moments want you to be distracted by bigger and better things, so they can slither away without being seen.

If you want to see them, you need to look for them. You need to wait for them.

If you want to catch a glimpse of these moments, you have to bein the moment.

How can we be in the moment if we're too concerned that each moment will be our last?

How can we cherish the moment if we are fearful that the next one might never come?

But if we have no intention of dying, we might just be able to concentrate on living.

Just for today.

Just for one hour.

Just for one minute.

Just for one breath.

Today I'm going to pass on the cruise, the skydiving and the dolphins.

Tonight I'm going to lay down with my daughter and tuck her in. I am going to wait patiently until she falls asleep and then I'm going to listen to her each and every breath.

I am going to catch the moment. I'm going to strangle it and tie it to the bed post. I'm going to hit it over the fucking head with a 2x4.

It's going to know that I am there.

I refuse to imagine this being the last time. I will do no such thing. On the contrary, I will imagine a life full of these moments.

"Live every day as if you were going to live forever."

It seems far more productive than the alternative...

- For my courageous cousin and her three remarkable daughters. May your tears soon turn to laughter. And for the good man who left this life way too soon. It's obvious to us all that you made each and every moment count. We miss you terribly.

Jason Mayo is Out-Numbered. In real life, he is the Managing Director and Partner
of the award winning NYC Digital Media Boutique, Click 3X. Jason is married and has two amazingly smart and beautiful daughters. They all live together and give each other much love and headaches. In 2010 Jason was chosen by BlogHer as one of the top 100 voices of the year. In 2011 and 2012 Jason made Babble's Top 50 Dad Bloggers list. In 2013 he was named to the "25 Dads Who Rock" list published by Working Mother, keeping company with Barak Obama, Jay-Z and Brad Pitt. Jason recently published his first children's book, "Do Witches Make Fishes?" All of the profits from the book are donated to The Garden of Dreams Foundation. Jason never thought he'd have daughters and now he'll always be, Outnumbered.